Ezekiel 38:6

38:6 They are joined by ¹  Gomer with all its troops, and by Beth Togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops – many peoples are with you. ² 

Ezekiel 38:13

38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors ³  will say to you, “Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?”’

Psalms 72:10

72:10 The kings of Tarshish ⁴  and the coastlands will offer gifts;

the kings of Sheba ⁵  and Seba ⁶  will bring tribute.

Isaiah 66:19

66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them ⁷  and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, ⁸  Lud ⁹  (known for its archers ¹⁰ ), Tubal, Javan, ¹¹  and to the distant coastlands ¹²  that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor.

Jeremiah 25:22

25:22 all the kings of Tyre, ¹³  all the kings of Sidon; ¹⁴  all the kings of the coastlands along the sea; ¹⁵ 

Zephaniah 2:11

2:11 The Lord will terrify them, ¹⁶ 

for ¹⁷  he will weaken ¹⁸  all the gods of the earth.

All the distant nations will worship the Lord in their own lands. ¹⁹ 

¹ tn The words “they are joined by” are added in the translation for purposes of English style.

² sn The seven-nation coalition represents the north (Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Beth-Togarmah), the south/west (Ethiopia, Put) and the east (Persia). The use of the sevenfold list suggests completeness. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:441.

³ tn Heb “young lions.”

⁴ sn Tarshish was a distant western port, the precise location of which is uncertain.

⁵ sn Sheba was located in Arabia.

⁶ sn Seba was located in Africa.

⁷ tn Heb “and I will set a sign among them.” The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Elsewhere “to set a sign” means “perform a mighty act” (Ps 78:43; Jer 32:20), “make [someone] an object lesson” (Ezek 14:8), and “erect a [literal] standard” (Ps 74:4).

⁸ tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).

⁹ sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).

¹⁰ tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).

¹¹ sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).

¹² tn Or “islands” (NIV).

¹³ map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

¹⁴ sn Tyre and Sidon are mentioned within the judgment on the Philistines in Jer 47:4. They were Phoenician cities to the north and west of Judah on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in what is now Lebanon.

¹⁵ sn The connection with Tyre and Sidon suggests that these were Phoenician colonies. See also Isa 23:2.

¹⁶ tn Heb “will be awesome over [or, “against”] them.”

¹⁷ tn Or “certainly.”

¹⁸ tn The meaning of this rare Hebrew word is unclear. If the meaning is indeed “weaken,” then this line may be referring to the reduction of these gods’ territory through conquest (see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah [AB 25A], 110-11). Cf. NEB “reduce to beggary”; NASB “starve”; NIV “when he destroys”; NRSV “shrivel.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “and all the coastlands of the nations will worship [or, “bow down”] to him, each from his own place.”